Exile
by Calethos Verilain Blacksworth
Summary: Samus Aran, quite possibly the most famous and decorated bounty hunter of her time, is arrested, put on trial, and is exiled. To complicate matters, the Space Pirates become alligned with the Galactic Federation.
1. Hold It!

Prologue/Chapter One

The Federation had known for three days that the Space Pirates were coming. There had been sightings as they dropped out of hyperspace long enough to be detected by long range beacons. Then, they dove back into hyperspace again, a few seconds out of their journey to the Core Systems. The Federation had a hundred ships that were perfectly capable of dealing with the Pirates, but they were so far out that in three days' time the Pirates would be at the governing planet and have decimated it and the five ships it had as a guard. The majority of the ships the Federation had were out looking for the Pirates themselves, and here they came to knock on the very door of the heart of the Federation. There were only fifty-nine ships on a course for Earth, but they would overwhelm the defenses of the planet without more than a scratch.

The Space Pirates were coming and there was nothing the Federation could do about it.

Deciding not to go out without a blaze of glory, the military alliance on the planet stocked their five ships with as much armaments as they had available, nearly to the brim, with each ship carrying only men and women trained to run the ships twenty-four hours a day. The soldiers would stay on the ground in case an assault was launched. The military leaders knew that wherever their soldiers were, they were likely to die. In the air, those fifty-nine ships would easily swat the five from the sky and take no prisoners, and they could easily bombard Earth's helpless cities without the soldiers being able to do anything about it.

The day before the fifty-nine ships came, there was a mass televised prayer, unto which all faiths were called upon to care for their flocks in this, their time of desperate need. Panic ran highest during this time. There was nothing to be done about it. The military's weren't the only satellites in the sky that could tell when a ship had dropped from hyperspace and could be seen.

There were mobs, there was looting, there was chaos. The only thing that kept the military from becoming involved in the personal struggles of the people was the fact that they were hellbent on preparations for stopping this unstoppable approaching wave of enemies. They let the world eat itself alive.

At five in the morning, Federation standard time, the first of the ships dropped from hyperspace on the dark side of Earth's moon. The five ships of Earth's defenses were routed to the area. They had not yet reached the moon at approximately five-fifteen when another group of ships had appeared opposite the planet, taking up position above key cities. Several minutes later a larger wave of ships, twenty-three in all, had joined the force on the dark side of the moon. The Earth's defenders had reached the moon's proximity by this time and had quickly realized their impending defeat at the hand of so many enemy ships. The rest of the Space Pirate fleet came in at different times, one or two at a time. The last to arrive was the behemoth, the pride of the Space Pirates: a captured Federation vessel named "Daedalus", carrying massive golden wings that bristled with numerous Pirate-augmented weapons.

The ships did not fight. The five defenders of Earth reached the nearly thirty ships on the dark side of the moon and had returned safely.

There was a communication. The Daedalus contacted the government of the Federation. Its message was short: "We need to talk."

Shortly thereafter, the larger half of the fifty-nine ships, the Daedalus breaking the tie, set down on the ground just outside what formerly had been called China. Troops were ready on the ground. They had surrounded the ships with every vehicle and weapon and soldier they could muster on three day's notice.

The Daedalus opened. Every port was opened, and the beings who comprised the Space Pirates poured forth from it like a flood. They descended on the ship and tore it apart, piece-by-piece, until it was cleaned of the weaponry it contained and the augmentations the Space Pirates had given it. The humans watched as the process was done quickly, efficiently, in a short span of an hour.

The leaders of the Federation government were brought on site. They had a chance to witness what appeared to be a hive at work. When the ship had been stripped of it Pirate components, the swarm collected into the other ships on the ground. Only a modest handful were left outside. They approached the leaders of the Federation, arms open in a symbolic gesture of helplessness. They carried no weapons.

When they were within hearing range of the leaders of the Federation, one spoke in perfect, albiet mechanized vocalizations of, English. "We wish to sue for peace with the Galactic Federation."

Thus began the first of many dark days in human history.

--------

Far away from Earth, but certainly aware of the events going on there, is a little pit stop on the way to nowhere named "Bounty's Bargain." This is the sort of place that likes to have a light in every dark corner so the local law enforcement can see where the scum is hiding and clean it out. This is also a place where the cure is often worse than the disease. This is a place where bounty hunters come to rest and resupply their premium weapons for premium prices. And this was the place Samus Aran, the most decorated and famous bounty hunter, was arrested. But we shall arrive at that soon.

As for the moment we, the author and the reader, arrive at this space station within just a few short moments of that "incident".

The bounty hunter sat at a bar. She wore her power suit, though her helmet was off. Her hair was tied back and was inside the suit. She had thought of cutting it short, but it had not interfered with neither her suit's functions nor her own personal comfort in it, so she did not act on the thought. She drank orange juice. There were no intoxicants onboard the station. The only patrons that were able to afford them were either bounty hunters or the local law, and neither wanted a clouded head when the other was so close as to be able to touch. In front of Samus was a plate of the slop that the Federation's top scientists had come up with. "It can be either solid or liquid, depending on consumers' palates. It has all the nutrients one would ever need. It is the perfect food." It had been in everyone's mind that ever ate it that the only thing the scientists had failed to perfect was the taste. It did not taste like chicken, it did not taste like dirt, it did not taste like anything. That is not to say it does not have a taste, only that nobody has any experiences with a taste that even vaguely resembles it. To Samus Aran, bounty hunter of the finest class, it was a meal.

She had seen the first reports of Space Pirates coming to Earth. She had been trying for two days to gain access to a vehicle that could get her to Earth without anybody knowing she was aboard until after the fact. She was looking to wound the Space Pirates in a desperate way. But even could she get a ship, how to sneak into the Pirates' ranks and wound them so grievously? she had wondered.

'Consequences be damned,' she thought. 'I am needed there. I have to go.'

A squadron of police came into the bar where Samus and several other of her bounty hunter peers ate and drank. She paid them no notice. A squadron was overkill for a place like this, but certainly not unheard of on routine patrols.

There had been a tension in the bar. Everybody onboard the station was closely watching the events surrounding the arrival of the Space Pirates on Earth. The squadron did not help the matters, but they did help maintain a note of civility to the place, which was what kept the bounty hunters from tearing the place apart from the inside out.

Each member of the squad knew the metallic gold and red design of the power suit Samus Aran had been known for. Several had seen it during combat with the forces of the Space Pirates in other places, and other times. They were straight to the eating Samus Aran. She became surrounded in an instant. 'Questioning me about some local yahoo, or asking for help. They always ask one of us for help, and my famousness gets me the prime position for it,' she thought. Her back was to the commanding officer, Chief Petty Officer Mark Briggs. She had placed another spoonful of scientifically engineer mush into her mouth, followed by the familiar taste of orange juice and swallowed.

Briggs had never seen Aran in combat, but her exploits were famous. He had even seen one bit of classified information about one of her older missions, quite on accident. He had not heard of the beast "Ridley", but had read about her defeat of it on Zebes. That had been an accident, of course, and also the only classified bit of knowledge about her he'd seen. Yet, in her presence not, her back to him, the way she seemed to ignore him completely as she ate, confident that they weren't here to do what they were about to do, she had his admiration and respect, and the knowledge that should they ever cross paths after this, his high-tailing it out of her way would be the only way to save himself.

"Samus Aran," he said in a high tone. She nodded her assertion that, yes, she was indeed the person that they had come for. "We are here to place you under arrest and provide escort to the planet Earth for war crimes."

The bar's patrons all turned toward the police surrounding the bounty hunter. They were all interested to see the famous, heroic Samus Aran on a rampage. They wanted to see blood. The spoon in her hand holding the slop shook.

"I am being charged for what?" she asked incredulously. Those closest to her could hear the sound of grinding teeth.

Briggs said in a less certain tone, small and almost a whisper, "War crimes." He watched her a few seconds. She did not move. He looked to his left, and the person there looked alien to him suddenly. He nodded, though, certain that this fellow was the same James Marshall he had served with for the last six months on this station. The other officer touched another and the two pulled their electrified night-sticks out. Seeing that, two more readied a set of shackles. "We are going to have to ask you to disarm," CPO Briggs said gaining confidence.

Samus Aran stood up from the bar and the officers that did not already have their hands full drew their guns from their holsters. They were all trained on the back of her head. "I am naked underneath this suit," she said. Thought of that went straight to every man in the bar. They imagined seeing Samus Aran strip down to her bare skin, the power suit she donned gone from the picture. Then each man pictured exactly how they would take her.

"Completely understandable. We can arrange to pick up some of your clothes if you would like. We all know how much a place like this needs its modesty," he said loudly, enough so that everybody could hear him. Samus turned to face the officer. He saw the anger in her face, and she saw the fear in his. And yet, he said, "Come with us, please." And she did.

--------

There was a sense of loading cargo that she got when she boarded the simple Federation Police cruiser. Important cargo - there were several ships to escort the one she was on - that was to do exactly as ordered on command or else be shot in the head. She spent a week onboard the ship, chained from wrist to ankle and to her own neck, and also locked into a spot on the wall of her cell. She was being treated as one of the most dangerous people the Federation dealt with. She knew she was, and she knew they were only being cautious. She was not released to use the restroom. She was not released to eat. She slept sitting up and in her own filth. By the eighth day of her incarceration, she looked like a caged animal. Nobody had gone near her except to push her tray of food near to her, which was the slop in solid form and water. They were all too fearful of her even though she showed no signs of resistance. Orders.

During the trip, Samus Aran's mind wandered. She could not do anything but think to pass the time. What she had thought consisted of these few, simple things, and grew into larger, more worrisome things: Who had gotten her arrested, why they had done it, and what would become of her. She would stand trial, there was no doubt about that. With her near celebrity status, she was guaranteed a trial. Other lesser-known war criminals had been found with a bullet in their skull before ever going to trial. But what had started as a "why?" had grown. Why had she become a war criminal in the first place?

There was ample time to think about these things during her trip, and what she had come to conclude fell short of the truth. 


	2. Out of My Way

Chapter Two: Out of My Way

There have been great men elected to office, all of them with differing degrees of success. Then there are men who are not great, who have knowledge and power and earned both through lies, deception, and various other insideous means. The man Robert Hurbert Kuldish is just such a man. His history alone could span a large, encyclopedic collection, most of it dark, all of it clouded behind the next untruth. The position this Mr. Kuldish occupied meant he had power over everything the Federation touched. He was God.

When the Space Pirates came to Earth to sue for peace, he knew exactly what they wanted and had started formulating a plot on how to create a profitable outcome from it all. It would begin with this meeting between the two races. Unprecedented as it was, they would talk.

Kuldish stood across from a pathetic-looking Space Pirate. The man was old and lined, but the Pirate was scarred. A metallic device wrapped around his neck spoke for him. He had no hands but metallic pincers where they should have been. He had no eyes except for the cameras mounted to a helmet on his head, constantly feeding information into his brain. He was blind and could not feel, but he could speak. What he said at that momentous occassion was this: "Mr. President, I am glad to meet you." He held out a pincer hand. The human president smiled and grabed the pincer hand. He gave it two shakes and released it. The Space Pirate nodded and made note of it. 'This is a formidable man,' he thought. "My name is unimportant. What is important is that I am the only one among us that can speak in a human tongue, due to, of course, my vocodor device." He waved toward the collar. "I am but a servant. The one I represent is named Hakh, of the family Rraaj, son of Hakh." He gestured to his left to the tall Pirate.

The one refered to as Hakh did not have the battle scars of his companions. He did not look weathered or aged. His eyes were blank. Hakh was dressed in what would be fine battle armor with his culture's technology, capable of standing up to multiple rapid-fire plasma bursts. It shined with a newness that told of how little it was used. He was not a soldier, he did not fight. His people did it for him. He was their prince. He was their God. When he spoke to the translator, it was in a voice every bit as harsh as a battle cry, yet one would get the sense of control, of experience. Kuldish knew that the metal was not his usual armor, it was unusually thick skin and a propensity for the cruelty that goes with a position of power. He was a tyrant. Kuldish found himself able to relate on this one small level.

Hakh reached out a talloned claw and Kuldish grabbed hold. Both had a powerful grip for their species, but Kuldish found his hand in pain. He gritted his teeth and bore through it. He shook the leader of the Space Pirates's hand three times, but was unable to let go. Hakh spoke in several low, gutteral barks, and the translator said, "I give you this ship as a token of our cooperation. It was taken from you in a time of war, and it is returned to you in a time of war, so that peace may be achieved." He released Kuldish's hand in a way that it looked to be thrown like a foul thing. Weapons were trained on Hakh. Kuldish did not grab to massage his hand. He would do it when nobody was looking.

"The people of the Federation graciously accept your gift, Hakh of Rraaj, son of Hakh." He bowed slightly. "Now," he started, "what can the people of Earth do to accomodate you?"

The word that came from the mouth of Hakh did not need translation. It was easy enough to hear. Kuldish wondered if he had practiced it before coming to Earth. "Hunter."

Kuldish nodded and smiled. He knew how big a thorn in the side of the Space Pirates "Hunter" was. Looking to one of his guard, he gave the order to have her arrested and brought to Earth. "Shall we speak in private then?" he asked. The two groups became one and walked together toward the Presidential Office.

The woman bounty hunter was allowed a free shower and a change of clothing before her disembarkment. She had suffered worse humiliations than an eight-day trip, chained like a dog to a wall with nowhere to do her business. But she had not experienced that kind of punishment since before she was taken under the wing of her Chozo family. The police of "Bounty's Bargain" talked of modesty and decency, but the ones who escorted her apparently believed in no such thing. The words kept ringing in her mind, having come from her mind: "That's a good girl. Do as you're told."

After the shower and the change of clothing, she was shackled again, her hands to her waist, her waist to her neck, making her stoop to walk, and her ankles hobbled and chained to her hands. This humiliation was almost worse than being prison cargo.

The place they brought her was a jail in the capitol city. There was a concrete bench in her cell waiting for her and a hole as large as her head in the middle of the floor that served as a drain. She did not wish to go near it. When she was placed inside the cell, her captors placed enough chain to allow her to reach that hole, but not enough to reach the bars. They again chained her to the wall. This was the severity of her treatment.

The guards had left her alone, thinking her helpless bound as she was. She looked across to the next cell and saw a man freely pacing. She could have called out to him, but did not care to talk. She sat on the bench, feet on it so she would not have to stoop so far. The man in the other cell instead called to her while she was making herself decently comfortable. "You know they've been here a couple days." Samus did not say anything. "They're already signing a treaty with the Federation."

"That makes me sick," Samus said in a low, gruff voice.

"What?" asked the man in the other cell. Samus gave no reply. A few awkward seconds went by. "So, what are you in for?"

"Killing them."

The man looked perplexed for a moment, then an expression of comprehension came to his face. "You're a bounty hunter!" he exclaimed excitedly. Samus gritted her teeth. "Oh, but you got caught, eh? Probably not a good bounty hunter then. Hey, you must know Samus Aran, eh? I hear that guy got a whole ship of theirs and a whole bunch of other stuff!"

"Yeah, I heard of him. I even met him once. Seemed like a dumbass," she said.

"Naw. I'm sure he'll be here soon and talk to those guys. He'll say something like, 'You assholes are screwing with my shit again' or something like that." Samus turned away from the man in the other cell and lay down. She wished the guy would take it as a hint to shut up. He kept on talking. 'Maybe,' she thought, 'this is worse than the ship'.

There was a moment, less than a second, when Samus felt a familiar something. Perhaps the proper way to put it would not be that she felt it, but rather the thing in her that aided her felt it. There was a little bit inside of her saying "Enemy." She could feel Enemy coming close, then not at all. There was an instant where her mind was in panic. Fear struck her and clouded her mind. She grabbed hold of her chains and ratled them like an animal. The smell of imminent death choked her.

"Hey!" came the man in the cell across from her own. "What's going on?"

Samus stoped rattling her chains. Her sentience returned to her. A plan. She needed a plan, and her power suit. With those two things, she could deal with this new threat. The Space Pirates were one thing, this-

"What's going on?" asked one of the prison guards.

"Just testing my limits," she said.

"So the famous bounty hunter is in my jail. It does seem a damn shame. Personally, I'd let you go to kick those Space Pirates asses, tell them to go back where they came from. But I got a wife and kids I gotta think about."

"The one for the many," she replied. "I understand completely."

The guard looked at Samus, huddled in her cell. "Wait a second. I don't mean it like that. I mean, I can't have you out stirring up shit and getting us all blown to hell. That's all I mean."

"I know what you mean. It's alright. I don't blame you. But I don't ever want to see you again after this."

The guard was going to reply, but swallowed instead and left.

"You're Samus Aran?" asked the guy in the cell across from her.

"Yeah."

"The real Samus Aran? I thought you were just a legend that they came up with. 'Hey, didja hear Samus Aran took out a whole Pirate base! Another pirate base! A ship!' Did you really get those guys like they say?"

"That and a few other things. Stuff that's classified." She felt Enemy again. It was getting closer. "I think you might even get to see some of that classified stuff here real soon, too."

It got closer. Enemy made her heart beat faster. Adrenaline was injected into her. Her instincts became that of a Hunter.

Samus' hand flexed, missing the weight of her arm cannon. What she wouldn't give right now just to have a single shot. Anything. Enemy was getting closer.

There was the sound of boots and metal descending concrete stairs. There were voices, some she could hear as human, some she could not mistake for anything other than Pirates. They were all in quick bursts of information. Those did not matter. Enemy was getting closer.

The hairs on the back of her neck stood up. She followed heir lead and stood as best as she could. Her teeth were bared. She almost snarled like a feral dog. Her hands rubbed each other. She felt he prickling of something below the palms. Small shoots had grown from beneath the skin, drawing blood; a reaction to the presence of Enemy. In her mind the words repeated themselves: "Enemy. Enemy. Enemy. Enemy. Enemy." The intensity grew in her throbbing head, in her chest, her hands and arms. She was a weapon against Enemy. She was what the Chozo had named Hunter. She was becoming what her human saviors had put into her to save her from the parasite that was to soon stand before her. Her mind was becoming Metroid, and her body wanted to become one too.

Enemy stood before her at last. Enemy looked like the Space Pirate prince. Enemy looked like everyone. Enemy was in front of her, and she was chained to the wall like a feral beast. Her eyes blazed at the sight. Her hands were at the ready to kill and absorb. Enemy was in front of her, and it was silent.

"Samus Aran," said a man in high officer's uniform, "you are hereby charged with the following war crimes-"

"I know your war crimes," she snarled, not taking her eyes off what looked like the Space Pirate prince. "I want you," she said to him.

Hakh gave a grunt of acknowledgement and nodded, but did not move to enter the cell. Just as much as Samus could feel his presence, he could feel hers. He felt the Metroid inside of her. He knew of her abilities. He could not help but feel proud of his conquest. He had brought two species together in one day, and in the next had captured both species main source of terror. The mind that was Hakh was saying, "Kill her, KILL HER!" The mind that was the parasite knew how to get rid of their last and deadliest foe, and that was not Samus Aran. She was only the key to it.

"Will you come peacefully?" asked the high officer. Her growled response could never be mistaken for a yes. "Sedate her." Hakh screamed his discontent. A pair of officers drew weapons that looked like plasma pistols from their side hosters, and fired upon Samus Aran. What her her were darts. She could feel the sedation drugs being pumped into her system, but they did not faze her. She had too much adrenaline in her system, and it cancelled out the toxins. "Again," said the high officer. The pair reloaded and shot her again. She did not move. Her growl became stronger. "Again." The pair reloaded and shot her a third time.

Samus Aran's growl became a roar. She pulled at her chains and broke them as if they were mere plastic toys. The high officer had never seen a human being break chains that were meant to hold much larger things. His face displayed terror. Her rage drove her to the bars and she reached her hands toward Enemy. The Space Pirate prince stepped forward. Then, her mind broke. Concentration was shot to hell, and her animal instinct left her. She fell into a heap at the bottom of the bars.

The sentient mind of Hakh said to the parasite there would be another chance. Let this one go and await the next opportunity. It was calculating. It's moment of murderous desire was just a moment. It was thinking rationally now. The parasite agreed. It was becoming smarter.

The two officers opened the door to the cell and grabbed Samus Aran. They picked her up and loaded her like human cargo into their transport. She was going to await trial. 


End file.
